1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of controlled flow, exhaust manifold systems and, more particularly, to apparatus for controlling the flow of exhaust gases between a plurality of rocket storage and launch stations and a common exhaust gas manifold or plenum tube connected thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In certain military applications, particularly on warships having missile firing capability, the missiles are stored in a series of vertically oriented chambers closely adjacent one another. Exhaust gas outlets are normally provided to duct rocket exhaust gases generated during intended or accidental rocket ignitions to a safe location. In such installations, manifolding of a number of chambers into a common exhaust duct or plenum tube is often necessary.
There have been a number of approaches to the problems attendant upon the use of a common exhaust duct with a number of missile storage chambers. It is important to be able to block the exhaust gases from a missile which is being fired from blowing out the individual chambers of other missiles. This is commonly accomplished by the use of doors or hinged panels which can open from the force of an impinging missile exhaust for the chamber in which the missile being fired is located and close off the passage at the base of a missile chamber opening into the exhaust plenum for other missiles.
The disclosures, for example, of Eastman U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,423 and Neuman et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,296 illustrate the use of doors or valves for this purpose. However, the arrangement of Neuman et al appears to involve a non-hinged "blow out" door which, when a particular rocket is fired, is blown out of its opening to admit gases from the chamber of the firing rocket into the manifold. A particular disadvantage with respect to this system relates to the apparent failure to provide any arrangement for automatically re-closing the door. Moreover, little consideration appears to have been given to preventing recirculation of exhaust gases back into and through a chamber while a rocket is firing in that chamber.
The Eastman patent discloses apparatus including hinged, spring-loaded doors which open for a rocket that is being fired and serve to confine the exhaust gases within the plenum chamber and away from the other missile storage chambers.
My own prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,648, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein, discloses a pair of hinged doors at the base of each missile storage chamber in the passage connecting the chamber to an associated exhaust plenum duct. The pressure forces on opposite sides of the doors during the firing of a missile are balanced to control the degree to which the doors are opened in order to adjust the opening to the varying dimension of the rocket exhaust stream as the missile rises and leaves the chamber upon firing. As a consequence, the rocket exhaust stream functions as a suitable "gas plug" in the opening in order to prevent recirculation of the exhaust gases back into the chamber.
It is important to control the rocket exhaust gas stream so that the gas plug is effective to prevent recirculation of exhaust gases back into the chamber. Control of the rocket exhaust stream on a dynamic basis to develop the gas plug effect appears to be more effective for the intended purpose than the use of fixed structure such as baffles, valves, diverters or the like which oftentimes have the undesirable result of interfering with the direct exhaust gas stream in their attempt to control flow, limit reverse circulation, etc.
Some of my other patents which are of interest herein because of their disclosures of doors or covers for the ends of rocket launch tubes are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,327, 4,173,919, 4,186,647 and 4,324,167.
In addition to the patents cited above, applicant is aware of the following patents which relate to diverter apparatus for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft: British patent No. 886,330; Madelung U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,436,036 and 3,645,478; and Einarsson U.S. Pat. No. 3,081,970. There is also a Lapp U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,303 which discloses an automatic fire extinguishing system directed to automatically extinguishing the solid fuel grain of a rocket which may have been ignited accidentally. These patent disclosures bear little relationship to the present invention.